Failed States:The Abuse of Power & the Assault on Democracy

[GeneralJakass]

lol when the camera first flashes to Chomsky it looks like he was like "huh"

[centurion180ad]

We ought to repeal the 17th Amendment, and then a state legislature ought to appoint this professor as a senator.

[DCseeker71]

Chomsky is the West's greatest advocate for the rest of the world. He tells it like it is!

[constructivereconcil]

This guy is so repetitive that I can not understand anyone who takes him seriously. All I can figure is that people love a radical liberal who drones on, which is certainly atypical, but the king has no clothes, you fools!

By the way, thanks for handing propaganda to Islamic terror organizations. Yeah, the US is a failed state by Chomsky's standards. What does that tell you? He has no answers other than for self-haters who need to hate the US as a way to explain their own failures.

[mauriciobeltre]

@constructivereconcil Funny how your words seem so familiar, I´ve must have heard stuff like this repeatedly

[constructivereconcil]

@mauriciobeltre Yeah, boring for me too.

[terrygand]

Just like the (Now gone), British Empire, the USA cannot `function` without an `enemy`. Communist,Terrorist,Islamic, Whatever, without a `viable` enemy/bogyman the US is failing! Today is 24-April-2011, within 2 years the US economy will have `collapsed` with inflation, financial exodus, unaffordable military budget; same thing that caused the British Empire to "self destruct". US will `break` apart when their economy fails. 2-5 years, US a `failed state` !

[Uprising771]

@terrygand agreed

[acerb45666555]

a failed state has a 1934 mentality of unbearably stifling proportions. dull grey suits. empty grey stagnant minds. obsolete. defunct. redundant in the extreme.

[timd941]

obama is a failed leader

[TinyArts]

i would love to see a debate btw Bill O'Reilly and Chomsky. The rules must be that your are not allowed to raise your voice or interrupt.

[timetochilli]

@TinyArts then oreily would not sayin anyything! if thats the rule

[shaithesm0ck]

@TinyArts that would be a solid win for chomsky! :P:D

[tstruss912]

Get 'em Chomsker, get 'em!

[DillenWilliams]

Ive noticed Chomsky's intellectual depth and I've realized how rare it is to find someone who is smart and fearlessly dissident, who hasn't already been shot and killed. I think to have someone speak out against corruption that their own country is portraying is what should be known as true patriotism.

[ndeamonk]

@DillenWilliams My friend, I couldn't find words that are as true as yours. Mr. Chomsky is one of a rare, few in the public eye that would fit my definition of a patrioit.

[Command0182]

Chomsky, he's what faux news is afraid of. Conservatives rant about how Bush kept this country safe, yeah right.

amazon.com/dp/B000Q9IU7U/?tag=­leftm-20

[ThereisNoGoingHome]

Fuck this guy is boring.

[matt301273]

@ThereisNoGoingHome  God forbid you should have to exert yourself intellectually

[shaithesm0ck]

@ThereisNoGoingHome If you are used to simple entertainment, he is...

[itchykami]

Awesome speaker, awesome book, but yea, you better be ready to listen for a while.

[queqwerty]

the U.S. is a republic, not a democracy.

[ThereisNoGoingHome]

@queqwerty The US is a democracy built on the premise of Plato's Republic.

Toddler.

[solimiansky]

@ThereisNoGoingHome there's no democracy in the US! The two party system is literrally a one party system if the people are kept in the dark, Look at our gov now and u wont find it hard to disprove that theres no democracy

[niloclappu]

@ThereisNoGoingHome Democracy is the representation of the people but publicly elected officials which than classifies the US as NOT a democracy. The people want reduced military expenditures and increased medical expenditures so what does the state do? The exact opposite. The people want incresed diplomatic relations with both Iran and North Korea, what does the state do? The exact opposite. If this is democracy please explain how the state continues to undermine the will of the people.

[clustro]

I agree with Chomsky on alot of stuff, but he comes off a hypocrite big time though.

He rails against the US tax system, saying its full of loopholes to help the wealthy.

And then he hired a tax attorney to help him set up a trust fund :/

He wants income redistribution - just not his income, of course.

he's pretty solid though when it comes to the disjoint between US rhetoric and foreign policy actions, and how the american mass media is pro-elite propaganda.

[wintermute70]

who did the looting? Blackwater? or just whoever was available-kurds, Iraqis, Iranians? ya know, I do remember the inspectors were there for months, finding nothing-reportedly-so then why was it an iminent threat? I don't remember that the looting was well reported-who reported it? I do remember one report about the us army or whatever dismantling a site, that was going to take them 6 months to finish-but it was all conventional ordnance, it's just that there was a lot of it, a giant cache

[malma1]

Chomski challenges the prevailing mindset! His ideas are therefore incomprehensible to many people.

[djboony]

it is a well supressed fact that so called "dirty bombs" are so ineffective as to be little more than a propaganda weapon. the expolsive element of the bomb disperses the radioactive material over too wide an area and too thinly as to be effective. look it up

[QuantumProphet]

would you take a dirty bomb in your town?

[djboony]

@QuantumProphet ofcourse not but its not the "H bomb blast" its made out to be

[dootdbc]

i remember hearing this on the radio when it aired

[ice9001]

It just hard to argue with wht he say`s the truth hurts .

[jeremybalfe]

Failure to accept Chomsky is blatant and willing refusal to look at reality.

[ice9001]

Word

[DCseeker71]

Chomsky. Bringing it.

[Uprising771]

@DCseeker71 he always brings it

[peruvianlover82]

LOL I love Noam Chomsky but he is very long winded even to the point where the host has to interrupt Chomsky to basically go on a short break... You go Chomsky you share your vast knowledge with the world commercial break or not! LOL

[madmethod2]

It funny how the truth always seems to be kept repressed in the major news networks, like CNN. You would never find a revealing interview with Chomsky because it exposes the true U.S foreign policy.

[spits32]

It's because of concision

[clustro]

because as well all know, all important solutions to society's problems can be articulated in the timespan between commercial breaks.

[daz19nz]

Hes cites all his work, Look at the biblography at the end of his books

[thevalleyofgreen]

damn. that last one didnt show up until now. disregard either of them. since they both say the same thing...

[thevalleyofgreen]

does anyone know where he gets his info? i wish he would site his sources. the public cant be informed if this kind of information is kept in the hands of so-called "intellectuals" or maybe thats what he wants?

[peruvianlover82]

Well you can ask that of any person that opens there mouth. He does cite his stuff in books but like he says "its all there" meaning out there for the intellectual not plagued by laziness to go and investigate the truth like he has. But how about you read one of his books and look every single one of his sources and you will see that he is not pulling stuff out of thin air.

[Darusdei]

this is pretty old post from you talking about where chomsky gets hes info...

this has never been a big secret for example the looting of the arsenal sights were very well reported by the media...

but i think the US media doesnt want to report on those things...

[thevalleyofgreen]

i wish he could give details on exactly what he is supposedly reading. he needs to site his sources once in a while. the public cant be informed if these articles he speaks of arent able to be seen by the public. or maybe thats what he wants?

[krok3232]

read his book

[jmeiskues]

ha this man would talk on forever if he could.

[stopwelfare]

At least he has something worthwhile to say.

[jgcooper]

and i'd listen forever if i could

[Onetimerule]

Theres nothing left good to say about america.

[jgcooper]

you can say there's still hope, and where ever there's a free thinking individual, there will be hope. hope is the last thing to be lost.

[NTChamps]

You're absolutely correct, big man, & this country has more than enough free-thinking persons.Also, every1 most likely overlooks your upholding of hope, but it IS important.BRAVERY is also REALLY IMPORTANT!!

[NTChamps]

Nothing is pre-destined.That is 2 say, we can change the current course of our fate.I hate 2 say this & I know it sounds callous, but 9/11 didn't have 2 happen.All this LIHOP/MIHOP talk would B irrelevant if a few persons would've reacted w/ bravery.When force comes-don't cower....

[jgcooper]

it will go on for as long as we let them push us around and abuse us. people have to wake up and realize that we're capable of stopping them, otherwise we'll just fall appart, together we can triumph and build a better world for us, and our children, it's all in our hands, it's all in our heads.

[micheals1992]

torrorist arnt terrorist where they live. if thousands of arab troops invaded your country just because some torrorist group that crashed a plane into a building was hiding in your country wouldnt you want to get revenge after they killed most of your family in the cross fire. alot of people who live there there familys was killed infront of them by american troops. in iraq terrorists are freedom fighters in there own peoples eyes.

[Lucifer986]

chomsky is a mesiah and his death would be day world mournes and truely realizes thast it let such a mn slip. when countrys are lead by men like chomsky the true definition of democracy would come forward

[abby495]

I love people who tell the truth. Thank you Chomsky. I am tired of talking to brainwashed idiots who cling to the word of authority even if it is wrong even if it is not just.

[korymic]

The Neocon, Roghtwing and PNACheney are attempting a "COG", or "Change Of Government". They are trying to bust Americas treasury by emptying Our Tax Payer and Corp.Tax Money into Their Own coffers, ie, Halliburton and Blackwater. Wake up America and Involve Yourselves. They don't deserve Our Land or Our Children's Way of Life.

[sawzaw203]

The United States of America, my home country by the way which I'm very proud of, is a leading terrorist state in this world!! The case for that is overwhelming as Chomsky and other prominent intellectuals can point out over and over again! Until we recognize our own crimes against other peoples of the world, it will never stop.

[gtg309v]

Why are you very proud?

[ammannojacku]

TheRepublicMenu ... USA forever, GOD forever too

RESPONSE

GOD IS FOREVER..Where as YOU and USA are NOT..ONLY GOD IS ETERNAL

[DisidenciaTricolor]

No, shut up.

[fedeman2]

it's also a haven for ignorant, narrow-minded, right-wing bullshit like yours. ignorance knows no politics.

[Necrovore666]

"As far as I am concerned." That's pretty typical. You can just keep dreaming that by some ludicrous measure the USA is the the "BEST" nation IN the world. In what sense? Military power? Sure, but what idiot would ever regard that as a measure of the quality of a nation? Are you going to pick and choose where you live based on how much military force they have at their disposal? By no measure are we the most free or even ONE OF the most democratic nations on the planet.

[ANDYLOOM]

I think it should pointed that alot of those nations you speak of are dictatorships because of the United States. No one can really deny that we supported the House of Saud, General Pinochet of Chile, Shan of Iran, Saddam Hussein, and list goes on. Currently there is General Musharraf of Pakistan not really a great pillar of democracy. Can you help me understand how any of that assisted in speading democracy. And than at the end can you call me an idiot, moron or maybe a liberal pussy.

[NathanZackery]

If you listen to 9:00 to 10:36 he mentions the looting of Iraqi military stockpiles after the US invasion. I remember seeing News pictures at the time showing stacks of missiles which went missing overnight. I wonder where these weapons actually went (and if we'll see them again soon)?

[joaofsilva]

U will see those guns in the hands of some US sponsored terrorist group.

[gtg309v]

Are you still talking about these Iraqi weapons? Do you seriously think that was ever the reason that we went there, that we were threatened by them? They were just the public relations excuse used to get support from the public for invading.

[NathanZackery]

Obviously not. I am refering to what Chomsky refers to between 9:00 and 10:36.

[Huttah123]

At the point u specified Chomsky is talking about the "means" to make WMD (which most countries have), not WMD themselves. And his point is that if the UN, US and other coalition forces had done their job right, these dangerous biotoxins and high-precision delivery systems wouldn't have been left unguarded for any crackpot to come along and steal for their own purposes.

[curlinburn]

What is God?

[TrueNovice]

He's down the road from me. Busy.

[singray7]

God is something that politicians use to manipulate ignorant voters... and God is a way for ignorant people to live with the horrors the man has heaped on man throughout history, by believing that there is a righteous entity that, in the end, will reward the abused and punish the evil. Things could improve if the masses would just become educated about REALITY...

[kryz24v]

Hey! I live on a mountain I resent that statement,lol. United States seems to have become as hypocritical as most of its occupants. Stop and lets look at the facts. Learn the history and let us remove ourselves from this closed minded rhetoric.

[daryl2pape]

I suppose you design roads and other infrastructure. If we are going to have civilized society, every person is important, even you. So if you do not owe anything to other memebers of society, go live on a mountain.

[mieery]

do you even know why you said that nbs ?

[nbs991]

lol @ communist sympathizer complaining about collectivism.

[myroseaccount]

I work in a private profit corporation. THis is called a collectivist legal entity by legal scholars and historians. Which is a reasonable and correct definition. Corporations: one of the primary institutions of capitalism as currently practiced around the world is a collectivist institution.

Also please refer to the evidence that shows that Chomsky is a communist sympathiser

[comrades890]

communism has never been properly implemented.Stalin, Lenin were not true communists.!The mass media control peoples thinking and they dont even realise it. As a human race we are finished.The elite few quite effictively rule the masses

[lucobis]

cuba is probably the most successful communist state.

[Antiworld23]

Noam Chomsky basically advocates the replacement of American sovergnty, influence, and laws with those inline with an international socialist agenda. He is unconcerned with genocide, war, famine, and misery around the world unless he can link them to the "evil" capitalist United States and use them as an excuse to let the socialists take the helm in world affiars and redestribute American erned wealth to undeserving third world nations.

[sturgonhaldor]

Yeah, earned on the backs of slaves and child workers from India. You haven't an inkling of what you are talking about.

[Antiworld23]

That's right. I'm not a socialist so I'm stupid and don't know what I'm talking about.

Earned on the backs of slaves and child workers from India? Give me a break! EYE don't know what I'm talking about?

[jtr3030]

He is a socialist, but an anarchist socialist. He supports giving power to the people through democracy in almost every aspect of human life. He does support federation but mostly just for international peacekeeping treaties and the like. The reason he speaks out against the US's crimes more than anyone else's is bc he lives in the US and he thinks that speaking to people about their own country's crimes will have a bigger impact and is more important.

[jtr3030]

Plus, the US is one of the leading international terrorist states, and that's worth making people aware of. Anyone can speak about the genocide in Darfur, but speaking about crimes of the state in which people are living is much more important, and a lot of people aren't aware of their own country's crimes.

[SBRACK10]

Undeserving Third World nations?!! A lot of these nations have resourses which American elites STEAL from the people of these countries. It is America who are THIEVING from those who do not have power. The US government/corporations are those who are undeserving. How dare you twist what is happening in the world.

[keithkiely83]

My things? ha ha ha

[keithkiely83]

The weird thing is I would have gotten a more intelligent response and maybe an answer to my question on an Oprah site. Son you come out with some weird stuff, Oprah, where in the name of God did you get that from, ha ha

[keithkiely83]

It's such an ego boost to see how little you can actually respond to a serious debate and proves my point, you can only sink to the level of childish games like all simple minded idiots who speak before thinking. Please go on.

[keithkiely83]

ha ha ha, it's endless entertainment with you Liberals are leftists aka marxists, A childs guide to ideology, for your information liberals existed long before Marx,In political terms the Pope would be considered left, does that make him a Marxist too?Idiotic, whats this about jail now, please explain and sister?? i dont speak idiot, sorry.

[keithkiely83]

Theres the evidence i was waiting for, the sweeping generalizations, sounded by an idiot, who neither comprehends any of the ideologies he mocks not gives an iota of thought about anyone but himself, answering you further would be an insult to the intelligence of even a dog. the shallow stupidity of what your saying is almost funny if i wasn't aware that you believe in it.

[Person009]

He leans on a social libertarian side yes, but he sympathizes with anarcho-syndocalism

[keithkiely83]

Ha Ha you really have no idea what marxism is do you? Commie crap? this is a classic liberal argument, that society should take care of its less fortunate not a marxist one

[plenty2see]

the widening gap between ovt policy and public opinion sounds like STALINIST America .

[wwwPNACATTACKcom]

USA do not have soicial democracy - only far right wing nuts - that's why it is like communism upside down. Reflection. Fascism and nazism.

[Webins]

Well, for better or worse, this happens to be the view of many millions of Americans, including both Parties.

Still, I don't think his beliefs are that extreme. I don't think he advocates state ownership of all business, and removal of private proprty.

[Webins]

He's not really socialist at all.

If anything, he often criticizes the government's role ion directing the economy.

Doesn't sound socialist to me. Thoughhe does oppose the power of corporations.

[sturgonhaldor]

He is a socialist, to be precise, an anarcho-syndicalist. This means he opposes both govermental/state and private/corporate power, which is a perfectly reasonable thing to do.

[MiamiRSVP]

"Functioning??"

I have the real solution, hit me up myspace dot com / funktionz

[GrassAndRocks]

I have yet to read Chomsky's book, but I can only find fault with one of these lines... "Rely on diplomatic and economic measures"

Does he imply imposing sanctions on countries which the U.S. disagrees with?

[CIACoupsofTerrorism]

No.

[MiamiRSVP]

i have the power to convert our military force into a heavenly peace keeping and sprouting powerhouse.

funktionz *

[Person009]

Great book, I just finished it. And as one of the quotes from a review says on the back, an American citizen won't look at the country the same after reading it.

[anthonyreaves]

Kentucky Attourney General Greg Stumbo & his Aryan Nation & KKK friends( ARE Official Capicity MURDERERS)& their US 6th district friends,( KENTUCKY IS NO LONGER SAFE WITH KILL FARMS,CIA & FBI-(GET PASSPORTS ASAP!) I AM A WITNESS ! THEIR IS NO JUSTICE IN KENTUCKY ! WASHINGTON DC. KNOWS & DONT CARE BECAUSE THEY ARE PART OF IT !

[MiamiRSVP]

Really?!!

[WESTCOASTLATIN]

i like michael parenti , chomsky makes me sleepy

[Xenu]

Has Parenti ever met a "left"-authoritarian he didn't like?

[azaquihel]

men chomsky is my idol and he should be one or the most famous person in this country...but he is not ..america like the rest of the world seems happy with paris and lohan

[estopa2006]

loan has big tits, and paris loves to fellate...  so whats your point?

[freeeknun]

This is a very good book, just finished it.